Stop German Shepherd Puppy Biting

A puppy is considered the cutest thing in the entire world, but when it’s an issue, you need to stop puppy biting as quickly as possible. Many owners don’t realize that the behaviour can lead to problems with dominance and aggression later during the dog’s life, no matter how cute it might seem when your puppy is rolling around on the ground.

In fact, most German Shepherd puppies learn how to stop biting when they are still very young. Simply because they have a lot of brothers and sisters in their litter, they quickly learn anytime they bite, they get bitten back. By the time a puppy is eight weeks old, it needs to already know to not bite. The challenge then is that the mother doesn’t always get eight weeks to stop puppy biting.

German Shepherd Puppy Biting – The Early Days

If you are taking home a puppy that is less than eight weeks old or that simply did not learn not to nip and bite on your fingers prior to getting it, you need to take quick action to stop the biting behaviour.

First thing’s first. Never hit your puppy in response of the bite. If they don’t believe you’re playing, they may become scared of you, developing serious phobias and anxieties that could lead to aggression issues later in life.

To actually stop German Shepherd puppy biting, you have to address the source of the behaviour. To get this done, you should encourage them in any good behaviors and discourage any negative behaviors. Don’t confuse the puppy by playing games that may lead to this sort of aggression. Avoid wrestling, tug of war, or chase games that may lead to nipping from the puppy.

Consistency will be really essential in training your pup. Should you really want to stop puppy biting, you can’t grow soft or let the dog get away with anything. You’re doing this all for their own good.

German Shepherd Puppy Biting – The Training

When you start training your pup, try to enrol them in obedience or socialization classes. You can find actual bite inhibition classes where trainers will mimic the behaviours of your puppy’s mother, teaching it that bites are not socially acceptable. Socialization is good for a number of other reasons as well. It teaches your dog to respond well with other dogs on the street and can reduce any aggression they reveal toward other dogs.

Early, when you attempt to stop German Shepherd puppy biting, redirect the behaviour to something constructive such as a chew toy or bone. Should you say “No!” then provide the dog a toy to chew on instead, they will learn very quickly that the finger isn’t okay, but the toy is.

Yet another good technique is to make a small, hurt noise whenever the puppy nips at you. This will replicate the response your dog gets when it bites its litter mate. A soft whine or yip will inform the puppy that it has caused you pain, something it does not want to do. Startle your dog enough that they’ll release and leave you be.

Training to prevent German Shepherd puppy biting is a very important part of the relocation process, particularly if your pup is rather young. Ideally, your puppy should realize that by the time they’re 10 weeks old, biting is not okay. It’ll make the years in the future a lot less stressful and the chance of potential aggression the future much lower.